作家
 
字體：小 中 大 |
|
|
|
| 2005/11/17 15:04:54瀏覽274｜回應0｜推薦0 | |
| Germany's leading political parties overwhelmingly approved their coalition deal on Monday, removing the last major obstacle to a new bipartisan government led by conservative Angela Merkel. At separate party congresses, Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU), their Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) and their longtime rivals, the Social Democrats (SPD), endorsed a pact creating Germany's first "grand coalition" since the 1960s. Some will remain skeptical it can hold together. "This is the starting point for a journey together with a partner we have been locked in a deep struggle with for 40 years," Merkel told CDU members in Berlin. "The success of the grand coalition will be measured on whether people are better off at the end of it," she added. After a month of tough talks, the three parties announced on Friday they had sealed a coalition agreement, breaking nearly two months of political deadlock which followed an inconclusive September 18 election. The deal foresees a sudden and dramatic consolidation of the German budget in 2007, driven by a rise in sales tax, and has drawn condemnation from industry, which fears the higher taxes will hit German consumers. Gripes have also come from within the ranks of the coalition parties themselves, particularly conservatives who feel Merkel gave the SPD too much in her quest to become chancellor. Although she did exact modest concessions to loosen job protection measures and cut payroll costs -- moves she says are key to encourage German firms to hire -- her party has had to swallow a rise in taxes for top earners and had to abandon its hopes for a shake-up of rules governing wage negotiations. The dissenting voices did not stand in the way of the deal on Monday, with only a small portion of delegates from the three parties voting against or abstaining. Merkel must still be elected chancellor in a November 22 vote the Bundestag lower house of parliament, but given the coalition partners' overwhelming majority there, that vote is expected to be a formality. FRAGILE, UNWIELDY She takes the reins of a potentially fragile, unwieldy coalition that a majority of Germans believe will not last for the full four year legislative term, according to a poll for Der Spiegel magazine at the weekend. "No one is forcing anyone to love this grand coalition or to cheer about it," outgoing Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in the southwestern city of Karlsruhe. But he urged party members, some of them with tears in their eyes, to endorse the pact, saying it contained the undeniable signature of the SPD and was Germany's only chance for a stable government. The parties were forced into coalition talks after the tight election left them with no other viable alternatives for forming a stable government. They were forced to strike a delicate balance on Monday, backing a program that contains bitter pills for both camps, while sending the signal to the party faithful that the forced alliance would not dilute their distinct identities and values. The balancing act occurred against a backdrop of withering criticism in the German media, which is watching closely for signs of cracks in the coalition's facade of unity. The criticism is focused on bipartisan agreement to bring Germany's budget deficit back within European Union borrowing limits by 2007 -- a colossal challenge requiring some 35 billion euros in savings and new revenues -- and the way the parties will get there. Much of the sum will come from a 3 percentage point rise in value added tax in 2007 -- a move some fear could hit weak German consumption and make it tough for the coalition to achieve its chief goal of cutting unemployment, currently at 11.6 percent. However Juergen Hambrecht, the chief executive of German chemicals giant BASF, said on Monday that if the coalition pact was quickly implemented, well communicated and executed, it could help the economy. "In principle, we welcome the fact that the coalition agreement has been reached, even if excellence does not emerge from compromises," he said. |
|
| ( 時事評論｜政治 ) |
